Westar, Great Plains Energy Merger Backed By Kansas City Group

The Kansas City Area Development Council (KCADC) has announced regional support for Great Plains Energy Inc. – the parent company of Kansas City Power and Light Co. – in its pending acquisition of neighboring Westar Energy Inc.

According to the group, the $12.2 billion deal – first announced earlier this year – will add capacity and cost-savings for residents and businesses in the 18-county, two-state Kansas City region.

In addition, says KCADC, among investor-owned utilities in the U.S., the combined company will have one of the largest portfolios of wind generation in the country: Specifically, Westar Energy’s multiple wind farms will provide 32% of the utility’s retail electricity by the end of this year.

Once the transaction is complete, the new utility will have more than 1.5 million customers in Kansas and Missouri, nearly 13,000 MW of generation capacity, almost 10,000 miles of transmission lines, and more than 51,000 miles of distribution lines. In addition, more than 45% of the combined utility’s retail customer demand will be met with emissions-free energy, according to KCADC.

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2017, says the group.